Thursday, May 10, 2007

And it sure sounds like there's a whole lot offinger pointinggoing on. (H/T Iraqslogger)Iraqi Parliament called off its session on Thursday only a half-hour after the day's business got underway when a heated argument broke out between parliamentarians.

The conflict was sparked by discussion of a report prepared to examine the security situation in Diyala, which had been commissioned after its residents staged a protest in Karbala.

According to VOI, the report submitted to parliament revealed that during one year in Diyala 11,200 people were killed, 9,500 families displaced, 8,250 women widowed, 16,500 children orphaned, 66 Shiite tombs destroyed, 350 groves set on fire and an equal number looted. The report also blames US forces for the deteriorating security situation.

Discussion over the report led legislator Shatha al-Mousawi, from the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, to call the government "weak" in its inability to provide security.

She also voiced calls for House Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani to summon Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to attend the session for further discussions on the deteriorating security situation. However, Mashhadani thought things were getting a bit out of control and canceled the rest of the day's deliberations instead. Mashhadani has called for Parliament to re-adjourn on Saturday.

This is the second day this week that Parliament has been called off. On Tuesday, a blackout caused that day's session to be cancelled after technicians failed to restore power.